


A Familiar Mug

by iwant2beelieve



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, au in which jack doesnt know who reaper is, friends to enemies to friends to lovers??, hitman au? kinda?, it starts in a coffee shop but is not a coffee shop au, what is canon lmao, widowtracer is also vaguely present
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-13 20:25:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7985089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwant2beelieve/pseuds/iwant2beelieve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"This was his guy. This was Talon’s “Reaper”, the answer to all his problems....or so he thought. Five cups of coffee has a way of making the bathroom seem more appealing than restoring the public's faith in justice. "</p>
<p>AU in which 76 is hunting Reaper for public glory without knowing his true identity.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jack had been sitting for over two hours. He was in disguise; his fisherman sweater was incredibly itchy, his one-size-too-small glasses were giving him a headache, and his white McCree-esque wig was falling off. He’s a soldier; he’d been uncomfortable before but he’d never been this uncomfortable while looking like a grandpa. Usually his sources were on top of things, but his mark hadn't made an appearance yet. It was a gamble in the first place. I mean, how often do you find out where the leader of one of the world’s most nefarious organizations is going to show up? Not very often as it happens, so Jack had decided to believe the info. It could be a trap. He had thought about this countless times already. What villain shows up in a small town coffee shop? Not a very good one. The one he was after was supposed to be a very good one. Maybe Jack was the one who wasn't very good. Nevertheless, he really couldn't let this go. This could be his chance, Overwatch's chance, to show the public they can be trusted. He supposed it wasn't trustworthy to be running operations secretly, but they'd understand if he landed this mark. They'd have to. He sighed deeply and shook his head.

"Would you like more coffee, sir?" There was a server standing behind him, Brian, according to his name tag.

"Oh...uh, yeah. Please." The poor boy had filled Jack's cup about four times already; this would be the fifth. "Brian," the server turned back to him, confused. "What time do you close today?"

"We'll be closing at seven."

Jack thanked the boy, took a sip of coffee, and rolled his eyes. If they closed at seven, that meant Jack had about five more hours of sitting here until he could go home and call this trip a bust. Five hours. Five more hours of eating extremely dry triangle-shaped cakes, or scones, or whatever they were, and really bad coffee. Seriously why,  _why,_ would anyone ever need to come here? As the time passed Jack had begun to amuse himself with outlandish theories. There's an entrance to Talon's lair in the back room. His mark's right hand man works here under cover.  _His mark_  works here under cover. Jack was mentally getting nowhere slowly and the caffeine wasn't helping. He grabbed a napkin from the table behind him and found a pen in his pants pocket. By the time he had finished his coffee (again) he had made a nice little drawing of himself and Winston high-fiving. He stared at it, not sure if he was ashamed or proud when he heard the doorbell jingle. This was it. Here he was. Winston was right, Genji's tip came through, and Jack was about to bring Overwatch back. If he could get this guy outside and neutralize him, everything would be right again.

Not to be too eager, Jack watched for a bit. The man who had walked in was tall, seemed quite muscular, dressed in all black, smelled awful, wore a hood, and if Jack wasn't mistaken he could see the man had some not-so-concealed weapons. There was no way Jack could see his face from here, but there was no doubt about it. This was his guy. This was Talon’s “Reaper”, the answer to all his problems....or so he thought. Five cups of coffee has a way of making the bathroom seem more appealing than restoring the public's faith in justice. He fidgeted. He really shouldn't leave to room. This could single handedly be the most important moment of his life, and he might miss it for what? A public restroom? No. He wouldn't leave. On the other hand, he figured, if he didn't pee now, he might not be able to pursue this guy if he gave chase. Curse coffee, curse caffeine, and curse his age.

 _As a young soldier,_ he reminded himself,  _this never would have stopped you._

 _Yeah well,_ he argued back,  _no use dwelling on the past, damn it._ He couldn't fight it. He had to get up. He noticed that this Reaper guy ordered coffee, and by how slow Jack knew the service was, he should be able to catch him on his way out of the bathroom, no harm done.

"Should" was the key word in that statement because lo and behold, once Jack came back, Reaper was gone. He was overcome with so many different emotions all he could do was stand by his table and wonder what just happened.

"Sir? Sir, are you ok?" Brian was speaking to him. Jack didn't care. "Sir? Sir, do you know where you are right now?" Oh, ok. That damn coffee boy though Jack was senile. He bit his lip.

_Don't yell don't yell don't yell_

"Sir--"

"GODDAMN, KID! D'YOU THINK I DON'T HEAR YOU? CHRIST. I KNOW where I am. I'm in the ass end of NOWHERE at some DAMN coffee shop with THE MOST inconsistent service I've ever seen in my ENTIRE life, which  _apparently_  has been a damn long time according to you." Ah crap. He yelled. He wasn't gonna yell, but he did. The workers seemed quite surprised at his outburst. To be fair, so was he. He's a good guy, and good guys don't terrorize children. "You know what, I'm sorr--"

"Oookay sir," Brian again. Maybe it was just Brian. "Is your son here, or maybe in the area? Any family member?" It was  _definitely_  just Brian.

"WHAT SON?! I have a son? Boy, you better tell me who because I sure don't know about him," Jack scoffed. He was totally overreacting and he knew it, but he couldn't stop. "You-- you think I need someone to help me around because I'm dressed like this? You think--you think I'm crazy because I stood here for a minute before I sat down? I could take on you, your dad, and probably all your cousins together and still win. I could run to the owner of this damn coffee shop's house and tell them how incompetent their staff is in the time it takes you to say 'sir' again. I could throw a rock through your car window while you're gunning 90 outta here and still hit you in the eye! You don't know me, kid. Don't assume you do, makes you look like an asshole." Ok, but really, Jack knew deep down he was the asshole. Evidently too much caffeine makes him testy. Losing the chance to redeem himself and his friends also probably had something to do with it, but it was done. He was done.

Jack left the coffee shop still steaming. He needed a pick me up. On his way back to tell everyone how he’d failed, he found some skinny, nicely-dressed jerk terrorizing a young woman.

“You’re toast.” The woman heard and noticed him approach, but said nothing. Jack cleared his throat as he stopped behind the man. “What a nice day to go out and mug people! Wouldn’t you agree?” The man turned around, annoyed. Upon seeing Jack he snorted.

“Old timer, I ain’t mugging’ her. I’m just talkin’ to her, so you can move along.” The man paused, and glanced toward his own belt where a rusty knife was shoved through a belt loop. “I’d suggest you do so quickly.” Jack cracked a smile.

“Hi ‘just talking to her’, I’m Jack.” He was laughing. He couldn’t help it. He was hopped up on coffee and angry and this guy walked into it. No one else seemed amused.

“Good one gramps, but I’m tellin you one more time to leave.” The woman made a noise. “You stay quiet missy, gramps needs to go home for his nap.” Twice in one day, twice in an hour actually, Jack got the ‘old guy’ talk. Damn kids.

“Alright buddy, here’s the deal.” He stepped between the man and the woman and ripped the man’s knife from his pants. “You’re gonna leave this lady alone and never come back to this part of town…or you’re gonna end up like this.” He bent the knife and snapped it in half.

“Ha! That was a flimsy knife you couldn’t—“ Jack punched the building behind him, leaving a good sized dent in the broken brick.

“…right, leaving.”

“You have two minutes to be out of my sight.” The man started running. Jack dropped the knife bits and began to walk back home. The woman tried to thank him, but he didn’t acknowledge it. There. He did a good thing today…antagonistically, but it was something, right?

Headquarters was nothing like it used to be. For one, it moved as they did. Staying in one place for too long was too risky. For this particular mission they were in some abandoned store. Jack wasn’t sure exactly what state they were in at this point but it was somewhere in the southwestern U.S. He didn’t care where exactly he was taking down Talon, so long as he was taking down Talon....which it didn’t seem like he was. Mentally preparing to tell everyone he had failed his mission because of a bathroom break was not something he was ready to do, but he had to.

“Morrison!”

“Jack!” Both Winston and Tracer charged up to him at the door. He waved his hand signaling to stay quiet until he was all the way inside. They gave each other a look and apologized quietly while shuffling in. “How’d it go? Did he not show? Your knuckles are bleeding, Jack! Jack are you okay?” Typical to her character, Tracer was bubbling out a thousand words a minute. Jack mumbled he was fine.  _Here goes nothing._

“I lost him because I was in the bathroom.” They stopped talking, hell, they stopped moving.

“...what’s that, love? You lost him?” She was disappointed, clearly, but was also looking for an answer in his eyes to a question she hadn’t asked yet.

“Yeah, I lost him.”

“You did see him though? What happened?” Winston asked. Jack knew someone was going to. It’s not like he could just walk away and never talk about it again. Jack sighed as he dragged his hands down his face.

“I had five cups of coffee. I saw him. I figured if I had to chase him I should pee beforehand, but apparently the servers got really good at their jobs while I was gone. He left before I got back.” Winston sat as Jack finished talking.

“Oh. I see.”

“I’m sorry I—“

“There’s always next time, love; don’t get too down on yourself!”

“...right.” Next time, ha! He highly doubted Talon would be so careless again, but if that thought kept everyone else going he’d have to believe it too.

“Well, hey howdy! Y’all’ll never guess what just happened!” No one heard McCree come in, and no one seemed excited that he had something to say. “I got quite the tip for y’all. Take a look at this.” McCree handed Winston a paper and leaned up against the wall triumphantly. “Nice failure by the way, Commander.” Commander? That was almost like when you accidentally call your teacher mom or dad. It had been a long time since Jack’s been called commander by anyone. He also wasn’t sure how Jesse knew he failed the mission yet. Weird. “Err...Jack, I mean. Old Habit.”

“What is this McCree? An address?” Winston interrupted and pulled a laptop close. “Athena’s telling me that it’s only a few blocks away.” He paused, “This isn’t another pizza place is it?”

Jesse guffawed dramatically and leaned forward. “Now, what kinda guy do you take me for? Would I get your hopes up for something new only to give ya a restaurant location?”

“Yes,” everyone said unanimously. He’d done it before, he’d do it again.

“Now don’t be rude y’all, that was one time.” Smiling and clapping his hands he asked, “Any guesses what it is yet?”

“Something tells me no one wants to guess, Jess.” Tracer patted him in consolation.

McCree exhaled loudly. “Fiiiine, I’ll tell you. Someone tracked Reaper to that location, him and the rest of Talon. Ooof!” Tracer had wrapped herself around him, giggling.

“Nice work love!!”

“I figured I’d just take this straight to all y’all, especially since that meant Jack here was in the wrong place.”

“...yeah....thanks for telling me...” How Jesse had managed something like this was beyond Jack.

Winston stood and straightened Jack’s wig. “Actually, Morrison,” He moved toward the wall and grabbed Jack’s gun to hand it to him. “Why don’t you go and end it? I won’t send anyone unless you ask for them, but all of us waiting around outside would be too risky.”

“Got it.” Jack said goodbye to everyone and gave hugs where they were needed, mostly for Jesse. He was acting strange today, a little more touchy than usual. He’d ask Genji later, he’d probably know; they’re friends. After appeasing everyone, Jack brushed off his sweater and set out for the old apartment building where he would finally hit his mark.

\--------------------

He had found it, according to the directions he had been given anyway. It didn't look very old or abandoned. Maybe all of Talon actually paid rent and lived there. He laughed inwardly. Probably not, but it was an amusing thought.

He wasn't sure where to look inside. He needed to know what he was up against. His best bet was a big window on the first floor, maybe from a meeting room or lobby? Evidently this building was made for giants; the windowsill he was after was above his head. He figured he needed to scale the wall, and he did, by his definition-- which happened to be crushing a bush near the building, standing on it with one foot and pressing the other foot against the wall. Whatever it technically was, it helped him see.

Inside it looked like there were only lackeys or bodyguards, no one important. He lifted his gun and put a hand to his glasses. There was a button on the side to activate his visor capabilities, specially designed by Winston. He saw everyone; he could take them out quickly. He smashed his gun through the window and started shooting. It took less than 15 seconds; everyone was on the floor and no one was moving. He shouldered his weapon and sought refuge in the air vents. Not long after he had squeezed in, alarms went off. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, and watched. The sound of heeled boots on wooden stairs was the only noise he could hear.

"Merde..." A relatively tall, slender woman surveyed the room. "Hm, unfortunate." She also had a visor on, and a rifle at her side which she lifted in the direction of the vent. "Voila."

She saw him. He scrambled upwards as best he could as she shot through the metal ducts.

 _Shit fuck shit fuck shit shit SHIT._  He seemed to have hit a second floor where he found vents parallel to the floor, or was it the ceiling? He listened. Hopefully he'd hear something that would tell him where to go. Instead, he heard laughing.

"Come back, little boy. You can't hide from me." She was climbing up the vent; he could tell. How in the hell was he supposed to get anywhere with this lady on his ass? She needed to go. "Just come here to me. I won't hurt you...I'll only kill you." She poked her head up into the second floor level, and Jack hit her with the end of his gun. Her torso hit the back of the duct and her hair flew forward where Jack grabbed it, pulled her close and hit her again, this time in the back of the head. He didn't waste time and chose a direction to head in as he heard her tumble back down to the first floor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack finds his mark (again).

At this point he was sure he'd gone in a circle. Multiple times. He hadn’t seen or heard anything through the vents that told him where he was or where he should be. He was just gonna go around again until he found someone. He could at least get info out of a person; it was a better idea than just climbing out and walking around aimlessly, at least. After what he guessed was three more laps around the second floor he heard something moving. _Jackpot._ As long as it wasn’t the French lady again, he'd be fine, so Jack crawled toward the noise. Through the slotted duct cover he couldn’t see much, but it looked like the figure in the room heard him coming.

"Amelie is that you? For fuck's sake you don't need to do recon in the vents. Good god, you've GOT to get a hobby." Jack didn’t move. He hoped he couldn’t be seen from where the man in the room was. "Amelie, I'm serious, get the fuck outta there." This man's voice was really strange. Raspy...but it rumbled. Jack would be lying to himself if he said it didn't bother him. "Amelie? Oh, what the fuck. What _scrub_ is in my vents?! Fucking hell..." The man approached Jack, who had started to rapidly flee in the other direction. Much to his dismay, and disgust, a dismembered arm appeared in front of him, blocked his way out of the vent, and pushed him into the room. He hit the floor hard.

"Ow, ‘what the fuck’ yourself! My ass has been tortured enough today." He realized what he said as he said it. Surprisingly the man said nothing. Jack got a good look at him. This was Reaper; he landed in front of Reaper. It was one way to get the job done, for sure, but certainly not his plan. They stared at each other for a bit, silently, until Jack spoke. "So like, did your hand attack me in the vent or…?" He's not sure why he asked. But honestly, here was this guy in a big leather jacket, with a weird bone mask screwed to his head, black smoke coming out of him, and Jack SWORE an arm - just an arm - had pushed him out of the vents. _Something_ weird was going on.

"...who are you and why are you here? Do you know where you are, old man?"

Jack grumbled audibly. This again.

"I'm NOT that old, and I'm here on purpose." He went to lift his gun, but it was gone. Reaper was holding it. "What the-"

"What kind of junk is this? You came to assassinate me with _this_? Really?" He threw the gun through the window. Jack was pretty out of options now. He would have to try and casually request backup in front of this guy. He decided he was gonna try and work it into a conversation; that'd be the sneakiest way. He would only hit the mic button on his glasses when an important word was spoken. After enough words, there would be a message clear enough for everyone to understand while also implicating he's not exactly out of harm's way. Perfect. Except he had no idea where to start. Maybe if he just talked what he needed would come to him.

"Why do you do this?"

Reaper snorted. At least Jack was pretty sure it was a snort; it was hard to tell.

"Do what? Win? Outsmart you?"

Jack had hit the button for 'you'. He was going for 'you should come' since it seemed simple. "No! Why are you--"he faltered. He didn’t even know what he wanted to say. "Why are you so....evil??"

Reaper laughed uproariously and smoke billowed out from under his mask. Gross. "Why am I so evil? Ha! You have no idea why you're here. You know nothing about me!" He sighed, and more smoke shot out from his mask. It smelled putrid; Jack gagged on it. "You know what? I'll humor you. I'll explain myself. I'm going to kill you anyway, and it's not like I really get to talk to anyone about it." He started to trail off and sat on the edge of a nearby table. "Well, I mean there's Amelie but she's no help really." He crossed his arms and faced Jack. "Alright old man are you ready for an earful because I’m going to blow your puny little mind."

Jack just nodded. He had forgotten about calling backup.

"Ok, you're wrong. Let's start there."

"What? Why?"

"Well if you would shut up I’d tell you."

"...."

"Trouble here is you think you're right. You think you're doing what's right. You have no idea what right is, not even close. There's a reason nobody like heroes anymore. It doesn’t pay to be a hero. Well....I guess it did." Reaper rolled his neck and shrugged, "Listen, every organization wants something. Every. Single. One. Even ones with good intentions. Every organization has a leader of some sort. Leaders want power— control. Even if it's the power to punish those who do wrong or impart justice on the public or - I don’t know - give everyone a kitten. Whatever, doesn’t matter. Power corrupts, old man. It always corrupts."

Jack had no idea where this guy was going, but he seemed passionate about it, whatever it was.

"If you want something done, you gotta keep it small, do it yourself. If you don't you're gonna screw everyone over, especially yourself.” Reaper stood in front of Jack like a cop stands over a suspect in those horrible cowboy outlaw movies Jesse made them watch. Jack was in the hot seat. “Let me ask you then; are you a free agent just, you know, come to kill me by yourself or are you working for someone?"

Still Jack didn't speak.

"Right, didn't think so. They’re gonna screw you over." Reaper returned to the table he had been leaning on.

"I didn’t even say anything."

"Didn’t have to."

"Ok, so why do you have so many people working for you?"

Exasperated, Reaper popped his hip and crossed his arms. "Most of them are bodyguards. Only 5 people max actually know what I’m doing and you're about to be one of them before you die."

Jack sat in a chair next to the table Reaper had been leaning on.

"I help people, in a way. A crapload of organizations are out to do shit - bad shit - to hurt people, to rein them in. They want control. They want the world to work in a way that seems best to them. They don’t think about the average guy, you know? Not everyone would have the ideal life under one set of solid rules. Sometimes the organizations know that, but they don't care. They're selfish, y’know? It's human nature. So what I do is I take them out, the organizations I mean. The public doesn’t need them." He sighed, "I've been working for years to stop the worst there is or ever was. Everyone thinks it’s gone but I know they still operate in secret....well, I suppose if I know it’s not so secret. Do you remember Overwatch?"

Jack was taken aback. He didn't expect this to come up. Dumbly, he just nodded.

"Yeah, shitlords are still working. That was probably THE most corrupt organization there ever was.”

"What?!"

"Uhg, I knoooow, it's so hard for you to believe! Your precious heroes were just as shitty as the people they were 'trying' to stop, oh no!" he scowled, then coughed.

Jack wasn’t sure where the smoke came from, but it definitely wasn't healthy. Maybe he had some sort of cigarette vapor machine hooked up to the inside of the mask?

"Overwatch was not evil! It isn't evil! What would make you even think--"

"OH GOOD. You're working for them, aren't you?" Reaper put a foot on Jack's chest and pressed him back into the chair. "I told you, they're gonna screw you over."

"Uh, ok, but by the looks of it, "good guy", you're the one who's gonna screw me over."

"Really? You're going to try and guilt me into not killing you? Idiot." He kicked Jack out of the chair and stood over him. "You work for the bad guys. Bad guy lackeys don't get to live."

"Shouldn't they? Shouldn't they get another chance?"

"Uh, not if they're just trying to get away from death because they know they're screwed. Besides, if I recall....you took out an entire room of people downstairs. What was that, about 15 lives you took? They didn't get another chance."

Well, he had a point. Now Jack felt kind of bad. Maybe he wasn't as good a person as he thought. "...you know. You're right. I do suck. I've done things I shouldn’t have, many of them just today. I just...thought I could give people a better life but I guess you're right. Not everyone needs me. I'm sure I don’t see everything that happens and I act on impulse, but doesn't trying to do the right thing count for something?"

This earned him yet another smoky scoff.

"Not if you ruin their lives, or kill them, or whatever it is you do to 'make things better'. It only counts to you. It only makes you feel better because in the end you just screwed up." Reaper turned away from Jack and huffed.

"...are you ok? You seem a little...sad." Did he just ask the leader of Talon if he was sad? Yes, yes he did. Why was he like this? He wanted to be nice, but also he was supposed to kill this guy. What else was he supposed to do? It’s not like he had his gun, was he supposed to choke him with a biotic grenade? Would that even work? Maybe this was like a hostage situation, like disengaging an armed criminal, or stopping a bully. Maybe Reaper was just upset. Or maybe Jack was an idiot. Probably it was the second one.

It had been quiet for a while, Reaper hadn't responded to the question. Jack was convinced he was the world's biggest idiot. He went to stand up again, Reaper grabbed his arm and helped him.

"I never thought ‘sad’ was the right word for it,"

_Holy Shit._ This guy was being real with him.

"But I'm definitely not ok."

Whoa. WOAH. The leader of Talon. THE LEADER of the talon was just upset; he was just acting out because he needed support. _Holy shit._ He didn’t have to kill him, just talk to him.

_I still got this, just be yourself. Pretend you're helping a friend...like you used to with---_

"That's enough for now. I'll let you go. No one will believe you anyway. Just...get out of here."

_No, no no no no_! He was just getting somewhere! _Just...keep going. Keep talking._

"Go on! Out! Do you want me to change my mind?"

"Can I ask one more question?"

"Look at that, you just did." Reaper started pushing him back toward the vent. "OUT."

"Why do you hate Overwatch so much? What did they do? I don't wanna go back if they're bad people." Ok, that sounded dumb, but seriously what was his problem with Overwatch? Clearly it was personal. Maybe he could offer a personal apology on Overwatch’s behalf and everything would be fine. Reaper started to grumble, and sat Jack back down in the chair he was previously kicked out of.

"Ok. Listen. That place had problems. There was a group of people who knew what was up and then there was everyone else. The people who knew...well, I personally think they had something to do with the Omnica Corporation, but haven't gotten proof. Honestly, I think the whole thing was a way to keep tabs on the big things "legally." They could watch the public, the government, big corporations, and us, the people trying to do what's right. Not only could they watch us, but they could _control_ us. You see what I’m saying? They only did what was in _their_ best interests and painted it so that Overwatch was doing what needed to be done. So, when people started to piece it together, you know Overwatch being essentially a cover for power-mongering assholes, they got rid of those too close to the truth.” Reaper held his arms out and let them drop dramatically. “They killed me."

None of this made any sense to Jack. Where was this guy getting this information? He must have been some gang leader or something that was taken down a peg and got salty about it. But...working with Omnica? He had no proof, and in Jack's opinion, no reason to think that in the first place. He really went the extra mile though. They killed him? He doubted that very much.

"W---they killed you?"

"Do your glasses even work, old man? Have you seen me? I'm dead."

"Mmmmno. You're pretty alive-looking to me. You're moving and talking...unless--oh!" Jack rested the back of his hand to his forehead sarcastically, "You're not a zombie are you?" If he had to guess, Reaper was rolling his eyes under his mask.

"No, I'm--that was my arm in the vent! Just my arm! It can just fall off!" His left arm fell to the floor and left his shoulder smoking, like the stuff that came out of his mask.

"Oh my god."Jack sounded a little more disgusted than he'd meant to, but it really was gross. The arm on the ground dissipated, and a new one formed from the cloud of fog around Reaper’s shoulder. "Ok, impressive, but you're still alive."

"Reanimated at best."

"Are you sure you're not just a zombie?"

Reaper lowered his head toward Jack, annoyed. Jack grinned; he's hilarious. Reaper took a step backwards, huffed, then took two more. Jack wasn't sure if this was still about the zombie joke or not. Maybe he offended him.

"I'm sorry. It was only a joke...I didn't mea--umpf!"

Reaper had picked Jack up in one arm, carrying him like a misbehaving child.  Evidently he was not as funny as he thought he was. He was being shown the door, his joke was so bad.

"Waitwaitwait! I'm sorry!"

Reaper still said nothing as he threw Jack out the front door. Unbelievable. Jack wasn't really sure what he was accomplishing while he was in there but he was doing absolutely nothing outside. He found his gun which had been previously discarded. It was a little dented, but not anywhere vital. After a few minutes of thought, he decided it would be best to try and sneak back in. _I mean, I have to do something, right?_ That sniper lady was probably conscious by now, so he'd have to bypass the first floor completely. He walked to the backside of the building, hoping he’d find something climbable there.

"Jack!"

He turned to find Tracer hidden in a bush.

"What going on? We heard a weird voice over your headset. What happened??” Oh yeah. He let them hear Reaper say "you" and then forgot about it. Oops. This was a delicate situation, but Tracer could be useful. If he sent her to the first floor and had sniper lady go on a wild goose chase, he might be able to slip by.

"Yeah...it must have cut out...I said I could use you."

"I'm all ears!"

"There's a sniper patrolling the first floor. Give her a chase. I'll sneak past and head upstairs to Reaper."

"Gotcha." Tracer headed around the front.

He heard her whistle. He heard a shot. He heard her laugh. It was fine; she could handle this. He took the handle of his gun and jammed it into the back wall multiple times. He left a trail of divots on the wall that should get him up to a second floor window. Once he got to the window, he looked at his gun again and dropped it. He wouldn't need it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	3. Chapter 3

He tried his best to quietly break the window, but shattering glass is hard to silence when you’re putting your fist through it. Not surprisingly, his entrance caught the attention of some guards. Jack bolted for the nearest room. Luckily, they all passed him and ran further down the hall. He wondered how Lena was doing. He climbed back into the vents, his favorite place, and shimmied down to the first floor. Hit the button on his glasses, he could vaguely make out two figures running around. She was fine. He looked back up the shaft and began to climb. On the second floor he didn't register any heat signatures at all. He exited the room and tiptoed down the hallway. Something came into view. There was a heat signature present, but it was barely a human form. He flicked his glasses.

_Way to break when I need you._

The figure seemed to be laying down on what Jack guessed was a bed left from when the building was an apartment complex. He could hear them making noise but it was faint. He pressed his ear to the door.

"A little bit manic, completely organic, doesn't panic for the most part..."

Whoever was in there was singing. They weren't singing any old song either. Her Eyes was one of Jacks all-time favorite songs. He kept listening, just to enjoy it, until he unknowingly joined in.

"And sometimes I think she's truly crazy, and I love it!" The voice inside stopped. Crap. How long had Jack been singing? He didn't even notice he was until the voice stopped. They must have heard him. That song was just too catchy! He held his breath, hoping they wouldn't come to the door, but he could see that the figure got up. _Crap._ The door swung open.

"I thought I threw you out." It was Reaper? Well, he certainly had good taste in music. That would also partially explain the visor problems. Maybe he really was dead, or just a cloud of smoke in strange clothing.

"Uh...right, you did. Sorry, I heard my favorite song from outside and I came back in to hear it. I'll just...leave now."

"Good choice."

Jack walked toward the window he entered from, saluted reaper, and jumped out of it. He heard a distant 'oh my god' as he did so. Reaper was standing in front of the broken window, looking down at Jack.

"You're too old for that!"

"You have no idea how old I am!"

Reaper seemed deep in thought. "...you look pretty old?"

Jack chuckled; he was getting used to this joke. "Ha, yeah. I get that a lot." Reaper was still standing at the window, watching him. "You're really weird, you know that?"

"Get off my lawn."

Or maybe that's what his problem was. Jack had planned on getting back in there, but he couldn't do it with Reaper watching him.

"Now you sound like the old man!" Jack picked up his gun and started to walk away down the sidewalk. Maybe he'd grab some dinner somewhere and try again in a few hours, assuming Talon doesn't pack up and leave.  

"Earth to Morrison, this is McCree. You copy?" Jack had forgotten about his earpiece, probably since Tracer neglected to contact him with it.

"Yeah, yeah I copy. What's up?'

"...uh, just got word Talon's ready to move out. What happened?"

"Shit, you’re not serious."

"Yeah, what's going on? Do you have this under control?"

"Uhh...yeah, yeah. I got it; don't worry. They're not getting away."

"Alright, just-" static came through as McCree exhaled "...be careful. Jesse out." Looked like he wasn't going to have dinner after all, sadly. All that coffee from earlier was making him really hungry, too. Jack walked the two minutes back to the building. He saw a blue streak through the window. TRACER. Maybe he was getting old; he totally forgot he left her there. He bit his lip and watched the window. Both Tracer and her pursuer seemed to be running around still. It's fine. As long as she didn't know he ever left, he was fine.

Jack sighed and walked again to the back of the building to climb through the window. He needed an actual game plan this time. What was he even trying to do? He couldn’t kill this guy, not yet at least. He needed more information. Who was he? What was he? What was his problem with Overwatch specifically? He needed to get in there and corner him. Jack was still fast so if he could get him in a windowless room and block the exit, he'd probably have the upper hand.

_Good plan, Jack. Way to go, Jack. You've totally got it, Jack. Why, thank you, Jack._

He climbed back up the wall and poked his head through the broken window. He activated his glasses in hopes of spotting Reaper but he saw nothing. Maybe he could bait him into a room? He searched around and came upon a dingy broom closet. Perfect. He walked in and backed up against the wall, facing the door, which he closed behind him. Jack cleared his throat, and began to sing.

"Her eyes, that's where hopes lies, that's where blue skies meet the sunrise! Her eyes, that's where I go when I--" The door opened.

"GO HOME." Reaper stood in the doorway, facing Jack. It was actually a little terrifying. He hadn’t seemed this menacing before. Nevertheless, Jack wasn't gonna let him go again. He darted to his left, and got an arm behind Reaper. Jack pushed him into the closet, closed the door, and stood in front of it. It was really cramped, and Jack was inhaling a lot of Reaper's mystery smoke, but it would have to do.

Reaper tried to leave but Jack pushed him back. "Don't TOUCH me!"

"What is the _matter_ with you?"

"No, what is the matter with YOU? I didn’t even kill you; I let you go and you came right the fuck back! Twice!"

"Why _did_ you let me go?"

"Well, it clearly wasn't a good choice!"

"But why?!"

Reaper said nothing, but tried to squeeze past Jack again.

"What happened to you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"That's why I asked!"

Reaper spat at Jack. Or...sneezed? Maybe he had a nosebleed. The stuff on his face was black and gooey. Jack decided to just wipe it off and not think about it.

" _Move_."

"No, not until you tell me what happened to you."

"I told you _I died_. Now get out of my way, dammit!" Again Reaper lurched forward toward the door. Jack pushed him to the wall and held him there. The smell coming from Reaper was nauseating; it made Jack kind of dizzy.

"How did you die?"

"You already know."

"Was it Overwatch? They killed you? How?" Another wave of noxious smoke hit jack. He leaned forward and gagged. Gagging at your enemy, that's threatening.

"Damn, you're weak."

"Really, then how come you haven't gotten past me, the gagging old man?" Reaper struggled again, but was pinned solidly to the wall.

"Damn it..." Jack saw Reaper reach for something from his belt, then felt a sharp pain in his side. His grip on Reaper loosened as he pulled the small knife from his obliques, and again Reaper struggled. Jack quickly dropped the knife, reached in his pocket for a biotic grenade, and threw it down. He secured reaper against the wall again. There was no way out for him.

"Go ahead. Hit me with your knife again." Jack was smiling. He _sooo_ had this.

Reaper sighed. "Alright, you've had your fun."

Right before Jack had the chance to ask what he meant, Reaper was just a cloud of smoke. It moved past him, _through_ him, and it felt bad. Jack shuddered and looked out the doorway. Reaper was gone. Jack hit his glasses again, and located him outside. Reaper had jumped out the window and ran. This is how it was supposed to be, right? He chases the bad guy, confronts him, and wins. Trapping the bad guy in a closet and terrorizing him wasn’t exactly the textbook way to do it. He jumped out the window and followed.

Jack had tracked Reaper throughout the entire town and recently seemed to be gaining on him. He wasn't exactly staying on the down low like he was supposed to this way. An "old man" sprinting down the street as fast as he was? That was going to cause some gossip, and he'd bet anything that Brian from the coffee shop would have something to say about him too. Winston would be upset; he hated PR work. If Jack actually got this guy though, if he really did it, he'd totally be off the hook.

"I'm not done yet." Jack had gotten close enough to Reaper that he should be able to hear him.

Reaper shoulders pulled upward and he stopped walking. "Ok, fine. What do you want? Whatever it is, I’ll tell you. Just...leave me _alone_."

"How did you die, and who killed you?"

Reaper inhaled shakily and turned to Jack. "You really don't know, do you?"

"Well....you said it was Overwatch, but you never specified how it happened."

"It was an explosion, Jack." Jack's eyes widened as Reaper pulled a shotgun from his jacket and aimed for Jack’s forehead. He knew that shotgun, he knew that voice, he knew that body...he knew.

"No..."

"Oh, yes. You knew _DAMN_ well what was going to happen!" The gun was shaking; his whole arm was shaking. "You wanted me dead, but that sure bit you in the ass, didn't it?"

"I-I never wanted you dead Gabri--"

"Don't lie to me!"

Jack stopped to think before continuing. "What happened to you? What _are_ you?"

"What am I? I'm about to kill you, that's what!"

Jack extended an arm toward Gabriel slowly. He reached for the mask.

" _Don't."_

Gabe pressed his gun to Jack's head. Still, Jack touched the mask. His fingers slid to the chin of it and he lifted it off Gabe's head, pushing his hood off in the process. He looked terrible. He was scarred all over, like someone took sawdust and tried to glue it into the piece of wood it was before. Parts of him were completely black and looked as though you could put you hand through it. As Gabe sighed more smoke came out; it happened every time he exhaled evidently. His hair had barely started to grey, and had gotten long enough to start curling. Jack looked into Gabriel's eyes. The white of his eyes were nearly all black, and only a sliver of his honey-brown irises still showed.

"Oh, Gabriel..."

"Don't pity me," Gabe spat, "That's the last thing I want from you."

Jack threw his wig to the ground and took of the fake glasses.

"Pity? No, I envy you! You look great. I mean, I was called old about seven different times today; you're barely even greying!"

Gabe looked horrified. Jack couldn’t believe he just did that either. Someone he thought was dead was standing in front of him and he tried to make a joke, a very bad joke.

_Ok, starting over..._

"...I suppose it's still nice to know you're the idiot I remember." Gabriel’s face softened for a moment, but he quickly shook his head and knit his brows

"Gabriel, I thought you were gone...I thought-”

"I know what you thought. You didn't think you’d ever have to see me again."

"I did think I would _get_ to."

Gabriel readjusted his grip on the gun, still aimed for Jack. Jack took a step toward him; Gabriel took a step back. Jack took another two long strides forward. Gabriel grumbled and began to retreat, but stumbled over a rock and fell. His gun landed a few feet away from him.

"Gabe..." Jack kneeled and scooped Gabriel’s torso up with one arm; his other hand found its place on the back of Gabe’s neck and his head settled on Gabe’s chest. If he could hear his heart, he was alive. No matter what Gabe said, if he had a heartbeat he was alive.

"...Jack..."

He listened. There was noise, but it wasn’t a heartbeat. Click. A second shotgun was at the back of Jack's head this time. Duh, of course, he's always had two.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you want to kill me?"

"Same reason you wanted to kill me."

"Gabe, I'm sorry. I never wanted to kill you so you're gonna have to think of something else. I know everyone said bad things about you. They stared rumors; they told me you were behind everything that was happening, but I never believed them." Gabe wouldn't look at Jack. The sun had started to set and that held Gabriel's attention instead. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"..."

"Listen, I know it's kind of a shock to find out someone you thought was your enemy and wanted you dead was actually still in love with you but you're g-gonna ha..h-have...t..t-" He sputtered to a halt. He made a mistake. Big mistake. He did not mean to ever say that out loud.

_Save it, Jack. Save it._

"...as a friend!!" He did not save it; if anything that made it worse. He winced in anticipation for something to happen, anything. It was quiet. Gabe started to shake in his arms; he was starting to laugh. It quickly turned to cacophonous howling. Smoke billowed from his mouth and nose with every new wave of laughter. Jack coughed, let go of Gabe and scooted back a few feet. He was being made fun of; this was a reaction he could have seen coming. It was his own fault, really.

"You're hilarious, Jack! You almost had me too." Gabe stood and brushed himself off. "I don't know what your game is but, hey, you must be having a blast, right?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about?"

"Play innocent, play friendly, see how much you could make me believe. Hell, I'll admit you got pretty far. It was a good run, but now it's time for you to leave." He had pulled another shotgun from his coat. How many did he have in there? No matter, Jack was back at square one. Gabe has always been guarded, but it was gonna take a hell of a lot of convincing to fix this. Jack was gonna have to be a lot more honest about his feelings to Gabe than he ever was to himself. _Here goes nothing._

"Gabe, I'm...I'm serious."

"Like hell you are."

Jack began again with his slow approach, hoping that Gabe wouldn't shoot this time either.

"Gabe," Jack fidgeted with his sweater cuffs silently for a moment, "Remember that time in the mess during basic for the SEP when you were telling a story about your home and I touched your leg? I said it was an accident; I was dizzy and dehydrated. I was fine. Remember a few months later when we were sparring, you pinned me and I put my hand on your chest for a really long time and spaced out? I said I was blacking out and I might have a concussion. I lied. Remember when we went out on our first mission together and you got sent to the med bay right afterwards? You saw me sitting outside your room on your way out, right? You said I looked awful and I told you I was just released too. I came out of the mission without even a bruise on my body because you took the hit. I was worried about you to the point of physical illness. Speaking of physical illness, later that night you told me about your girlfriend back home, you know? I felt so awful, Gabe. I didn't have the flu. That night we snuck alcohol into the facility? Everyone there was really drunk, remember? I said-"

Jack bit his lip. He had to say it; he had to talk about it. "I said, 'I want to kiss you so bad right now.' but you didn't hear me. I told you I said 'I want to kill you so bad right now' because I was going to have a hangover. You might not have remembered that because you didn't know what I said but...you remember...you remember when we did kiss right? You told me you didn’t remember anything from that night but I knew you were lying. We never talked about it but I never stopped thinking about it and Gabe--" Jack had stopped himself. He felt that feeling in his throat like he wanted to cry; he felt sick. "When I heard that you were dead...I wished I was. I sat for weeks wondering why I made it and you didn't. I told myself that I would spend the rest of my life rooting out the kind of evil people that caused your death, the ones that started the rumors, the ones behind the fall of Overwatch, the ones behind the explosion. I thought by taking out Talon, I'd be avenging you and I would feel at peace, finally."

Gabe was quiet. He hadn't moved at all since Jack started talking, and only lowered his gun when Jack was done.

"So you see, I wasn't kidding." He forced a chuckle to cover a sniffle. Well, there went that. His dignity or whatever was left of it was gone now. Gabe still hadn't moved much; he just stood, wide-eyed, staring at Jack with his gun at his side. Gabe turned his head slowly as he spoke.

"I'll be damned. You weren't kidding." The words were airy with surprise.

Jack wasn't sure what to do. He had just confessed his undying love for his partially-dead friend/enemy/target which he still had to neutralize somehow, but would prefer not to use force. He had failed this mission in about eight different kinds of ways. Gabe scratched his beard and put his gun back in his coat.

"Well, shit, Jack..." he raised his eyebrows and cracked his neck, "It's a little late for this, don't you think?"

"For...what?"

Gabe gestured around him, to Jack, then in front of himself again.

"I'm...not getting it."

Gabe just stood and gave Jack a look.

"Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never told you. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to make anything weird, but you were threatening my life so...I had to tell you."

Gabe visibly softened. He crouched slightly as he approached Jack.

"Oh, oh no, Jackie. That's not it; it’s ok don't...don't apologize for _that_. Hey," Gabe put one arm around Jack, and the other on his shoulder. "Don’t feel bad, ok? You look miserable; I told you it’s ok." He gave Jack a squeeze and rubbed his arm. This was confusing and completely backward. Jack had just spent an entire day without a weapon approaching his enemy to talk to him about his feelings and now he was being approached about _his own_ feelings. Plot twist. Gabe should have been angry, or weirded out, or making fun of him still. Any of that would have made Jack more comfortable than the sudden change of heart.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to make you feel better, asshole."

"Why?"

Gabe let out an exasperated sigh. "You looked uncomfortable, ok? No one should have to feel like an idiot like that. If I were you and I said that I loved you since we've known each other, I wouldn't want you to be a dick about it."

"....yeah, ok, but I should have said something sooner, right?"

"Well…I guess, yeah, that would have been best?"

"But you're not mad?"

"...upset is a better word."

He knew it. Gabe _was_ mad. Well, at least one thing was almost normal about the situation, even if Jack was still in some weird pseudo hug.

"Sit." Gabe nudged Jack onto a grassy patch and pushed on his shoulders and sat down next to him.

"So, now what?" It was a good question. If he was completely honest with himself, Jack was ready to pretend he lost Gabe's trail and let him escape.

"Well I hardly think a relationship would work, Jack, I mean....you're trying to kill me, I’m already dead, you gag a lot around me, I’ve tried to kill you probably five times today..."

"I...I meant what are we going to do about the ‘mortal enemies’ situation?"

The corners of Gabriel's mouth pulled straight back as his eyes widened. He didn’t look away from the horizon.

"Gabe? _Gabe?"_

His eyes darted around and he tapped his finger nervously on the ground. There was an internal conflict clearly visible in Gabriel’s face, but Jack wasn’t catching on.

"I need to think on it. I'll get you an answer once the sun's all the way down.” Gabe stood. “Can we walk further away from town? I don't want the goody two shoes paparazzi to find me."

“The what?"

"There is one, I swear. He really likes tracking me in particular. I think he’s trying to get scoop on the 'evil guys' to give to you but he's really bad at his job."

"Huh. Interesting, but yeah, ok. Let's walk."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's gettin real y'all


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel had led the hike to a nice grassy hill. It was dry, pointy grass, but it was better than a sidewalk. Jack was the first to sit.

"Look, you can see stars already!"

Gabe sat next to him and removed his jacket. He still wore almost exactly what he did when he led Blackwatch: a hoodie, hilariously it had a Blackwatch logo on it, and jeans that are probably too tight to be practical, both black, of course. It made Jack smile.

"Yep."

"I'd say the sun is down."

"Not while there's still red in the sky it's not."

"Barely.”

"It's not down yet."

"What is there to think about, honestly?” Jack lackadaisically twisted himself to face Gabe. “There are only a few options; we're pretty limited in what we can do right now."

Gabe scoffed, leaned toward Jack and put a hand on the ground behind him.

"That so?" Gabe looked smug. He had something planned and Jack didn't know what.

Hopefully he didn't come up here to die, but if Gabe pulled a knife, Jack's neck was an easy target.

"....what are you doing?"

Gabriel leaned further toward Jack, who was now flat on his back, trying to maintain a good distance between them.

"I don't know" He ran a thumb across Jack's lips.

"Gabe?" Their eyes connected, then Gabe pulled back. Jack sat up with him.

"Damn it."

"Gabe what is going on with y--oof!" He had been pushed back to the ground by his shoulder and held there.

"Damn it, Jack."

"WHAT IS IT GABE? WHAT?!"

Their noses crunched together as Gabriel pressed his lips to Jack’s. Jack pulled Gabe down on top of him. _This must be a dream; I’m dreaming. This whole thing is a dream._ He couldn't breathe, literally. When Gabe exhaled, Jack inhaled his smoke and something about that was weirdly pleasant to him. He smiled.

Gabe quickly reached behind him and pulled his shirt over his head then reached for Jack’s ugly sweater. As he sat up to help get it off, he examined Gabe's chest. It was broad and toned like he remembered but with so many more scars, too many to count. He was shoved back to the ground before he could say anything.

With each messy, toothy kiss Jack swallowed more of Gabe’s smoke. It hung around him close to the ground so that even when he could take a real breath it wasn’t enough.

Gabe started to fight with Jack's belt. He scowled at his inability to unbuckle it. Jack leaned forward to help and inhaled yet another wave of smoke; this time it sent him into a coughing fit. Gabe reeled back and sat on his heels.

"Ah, shit! See?! This is why this was a bad idea." Gabe tried to stand, but was yanked back down.

"Mm-mm. I'm fine."

"Jack, no. This was a bad idea, I’m sorry. I mean, I'm dead."

"Shhhhhh." Jack held Gabe's head between his hands and gazed into his eyes. He examined them leisurely because he never had been able to and smiled. "Your eyes are beautiful."

"Jack they're creepy now, like, more than usual." That earned a chuckle.

"They're so warm like...honey and chocolate and a dying fire in the fall."

"Like a fire because smoke is leaking out of them? Out of my whole body? Because I’m dead?"

"Shh, stop that."

"Jack, I’m serious. You gag when I breathe."

"Gaaaaaaaaabe," Jack shook him back and forth in his arms. "Stop! Listen, being able to breathe you is more romantic than a lot of people can say of their partners."

"Partners..."

Jack did kind of just declare then a couple. Maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself.

"I’m sorry, I didn't mean--"

"You didn't?" _Abort! Abort!_

"I-I mean I did...I just, uh. When I said--"

"Calm down, farmboy. I'm not that easy to offend, or did you forget?"

"Right." It was quiet for a moment, an uncomfortable silence. Jack sighed noisily "So...what was that?" It was rude to turn the tables, but Jack had no way to explain that he’d just assumed that they’re dating now. That’s what he wanted, of course, but it wasn’t plausible nor did it take Gabe’s feelings into consideration. Right now, Jack wanted to just pretend he didn’t say anything and let Gabe talk. His opinion would clear a lot up, Jack thought.  

"What was what?"

Jack squinted accusingly at Gabe.

"The kissing? I kissed you that's what it was."

"Ok...but we're both shirtless and my belt is unbuckled? Also remember about remember minutes ago when I confessed my love to you? Remember that? I don't recall any 'wow, I feel the same way Jack' or 'holy shit I love you too Jack'."

"Well...you know I did sit you down and try to discuss how a relationship wouldn't work between us and you totally didn't get it."

"No y--ok maybe you did, but you didn’t admit to anything."

"Yeah, I did and you should’ve gotten the hint."

Jack bit the inside of his cheek and pulled some dead grass from the dirt.

"Ok…but I’m curious how long has this been for you?"

"Has what been?"

"You know! How long have you liked me? It didn’t just happen, did it?"

Gabe rolled his eyes and noticed Jack had readjusted his posture; he was settling in for a story.

"Uhg, really?”

Jack shrugged and smiled.

Gabe groaned. "Ok, well I think the realization was probably about a month and a half after you joined. It was during a Saturday rec time and we were watching a movie in that big lounge."

"That time everyone was in there and we watched that shitty scary movie?"

"Yeah. When the monster or whatever showed up, Jace freaked out and Tia made him feel better; it was kinda cute. I don't know why, but their affection for each other hit me like a brick; I saw it and thought 'I want that. I want what they have.' Of course my mind was like, 'Bitch, with who?' I looked to my left and saw you there, leaning against me stuffing your face with popcorn and I knew I was fucked."

"You were desperate for affection and I was the closest one to you?"

"No, you idiot! We were best friends, we were close, we _cared_ for each other. I knew I wanted to be with you.”

"Oh." Jack pulled up a few more dead blades of grass "So, then what did you tell your girlfriend?"

"I never had one. That was a cover story I’ve had for a long time. I didn’t publicize my sexuality; I got some shit for it a while back so I never told anyone the truth about it, really. I was really paranoid about you finding out how I felt too, so I tried my best to cover it up."

Jack laughed.

"Well it worked, asshole. I never said anything because you didn’t seem like you would be interested.” Jack let out a heavy sigh. "You know...if society didn’t make us feel like we couldn’t be real about this we could have been together years ago."

"Yeah, sucks."

"But we have each other now and I don’t give half a shit what society thinks"

"As much as I'd like to appreciate you being a sap, we're still kind of enemies."

"Are we, though? The sun is down; you have to decide now."

"Oh... I guess I do." Gabe moved away from Jack, sat and stared up at the sky. They stayed silent for a few minutes, Jack laying in the grass and Gabe sitting next to him. Gabe knew that they couldn't just date and have everything play out dandy, but he really wanted it. He wanted so badly to pretend nothing ever happened but it just didn't seem realistic. He let out a small huff as he laid down, next to Jack. Gabe reached for his waist and pulled Jack close. Jack wanted to interrupt, to ask what this meant and what Gabe decided but he was too afraid. Gabe wasn't the sort to throw away the past and he doubted he would for this either. He decided to just enjoy the moment and pretend it was real for however long it lasted.

“Jack--"

"I love you." He turned inward to face Gabe “No matter what happens or what you decide just...know that I love you,” he paused, then continued as he turned away again, “Because last time you didn’t."

"Jackie..." He tightened his grip and rested his chin in the crook of jack's neck.”I-I don't want to upset you..."

"It's okay, just say whatever it is. I can handle it."

"No, wait, what I meant to say was that I-I wanted to tell you...I wanted to say…I decided...I-"

"Gabe, it's ok. Take your time."

He took a deep breath and slowed his breathing. There was a lump in his throat; he could feel it. He just couldn't say what he wanted to! One more time, he told himself, try again. Push the words out fast, like ripping off a band aid.

"Jackie," he drew in a large breath "I love you too, ok? …I have for a while.”

"Aw, Gabi..."

Something about that nickname made stirred up the past and Gabe’s stomach turn, but it was a good feeling.

"I care. So much. I'm turning myself in."

A wave of confusion washed over Jack.

"Turn yourself in to who?"

"I don't know. Authorities? I've done some bad things, Jack.  You were trying to kill me because I did bad things. I respect you, I respect your motives, and I’m turning myself in.”

"What?! Gabe, you don’t have to do that! You said yourself I do bad things too. Should I turn myself in? Every time someone does something wrong should they take themselves to the police?"

"Well, not necessarily, no. But we can't just forget all this and pretend we never did anything at all can we?" Jack sat up and put a fist under his chin inquisitively.

"Tell me, Gabriel Reyes, what were you doing in one shitty cafe earlier today?"

"What?"

"What were you doing in that shi-"

"No, I heard you but how did you know I went to a cafe?"

"I was-oh, good lord- we got a tip you would be there and I was hunting you down and I saw you but I didn’t see what you were doing because I went to the bathroom--"

"You missed me because you had to pee?"

"Yes, but my point is I doubt you had malicious intentions in that cafe."

"Huh, so if you weren’t in the bathroom you would have killed me."

"Well...yes, I suppose so."

"Good choice with the bathroom."

"Thanks. I appreciate it, but really what were you doing there?"

"Oh, I was getting some pastries because Amelie really likes their pastries and she's kind of sick so I thought I would get her some."

"See that's a nice thought! Not evil. That also explains why it took way less time for you to get out of there than I thought." Jack pursued his lips and though for a second. Something was bothering him, like he forgot something but he didn’t know exactly what... "LENA!!"

"No I haven't seen her lately but she would never see me as evil because I don’t think she knows what evil is, if that’s what you're going for..."

"NO. Lena! I left her fighting your sniper, I forgot!"

"Oh my god Jack, dammit!"

They both scrambled up off the ground and started sprinting quickly back toward Talon's building.

"Damn, you're getting old! Your memory is this bad?!"

"Well excuse me for being a little preoccupied with the fact that you're alive!"

"You can't just leave a soldier out on the field Jack!"

Jack used to repeat those words over and over even when it would be safer and easier to let someone go. Gabe never used to be a big fan of it either. He was happy for a moment, knowing he rubbed off on Gabe, but remembered they still really haven’t sorted anything out. Tracer first, then back to Gabe.

They arrived at the front door, both wheezing. Jack, being the quicker of the two, busted the door open.

"LENA?! IT’S OKAY I'M HERE TO HELP!!" Gabe started to sputter, likely an order to cease fire, but stopped when he looked inside. They both stood in the doorway, speechless. Tracer and Widowmaker were seated on the floor across from each other at a small coffee table. There was a box of tissues with some lying astray, tea, and bread spread out on it. Tracer smiled upon seeing them; it slowly stretched into a toothy grin as she began to laugh. Still the boys said nothing. Gabe's lips were moving and he was gesturing weakly at the both of them, but no noise came out. Jack spoke first.

“What...is going on here? I-I thought you were--"

"YOUR PANTS ARE ONLY HALF ON, JACK!" Tracer's laughing began anew. She doubled over onto the table; tears were coming out of her eyes. Jack looked down and realized his belt had still been unbuckled, and his pants were sagging quite far after having run all the way there. Gabe let out a chortle as Jack pulled them up and rebuckled the belt. Amelie groaned.

"You two, I am already sick. There's no need to make me more nauseous than I have been. Please," she turned away with one hand over her face and the other out toward them waving them away, "Clothe yourselves."

They were also both shirtless. Their shirts were still out on that hill. Tracer was still laughing; it sounded extremely unhealthy at this point.

"Before you got here you were totally havin--"

"TRACER!" Jack yelled as a warning; Tracer closed her mouth and her cheeks puffed up full of air.

"Pfffft HAAA HA HA HAA!" Again she was bent over the table, crying. Gabe covered his face with both hands and croaked out 'oh my god.'

"I don't know why you're so upset we didn’t even do anything; there's nothing to be ashamed of Gabe."

"WAIT wait wait wait.” Tracer sat back up and wiped away her tears. “You're tellin me you're both half dressed, your pants are coming off, and nothing was going on between you? This must be a great story! Come on, let's tell it then!"

"Uh, well..you see...Gabe was just-- wait a minute, aren't you the least bit surprised Gabriel is alive?"

"Mmm," Tracer put her finger to her chin "I _have_ been sitting next to Amelie for a good while now so...no?"

"Oh."

"Actually, I’m surprised you didn't know sooner, love. How many French female snipers do you know by the name Amelie? I'm sure Reyes referred to her by name?"

"...he...did."

Gabe shook his head slowly.

"Yeah, actually, I’m not surprised. You work with him; you know you have to spell it out. He didn't know it was me until he saw my gun."

Laughter bubbled out from Tracer again.

"NO. LITERALLY MY GUN," Gabe pulled out a shotgun and held it high. "G U N."

She sat straight up and pressed her lips together hard.

"He's not going to shoot _you_ , goodness."

"Shh, don’t tell her. She'll be quiet if she's scared."

"GABE."

"What?"

Amelie had started to laugh between her sniffles. Gabe looked highly perturbed.

"You must be really sick. We should take your temperature."

Tracer spoke up despite her fear of being targeted.

"I did about a half hour ago; she's already taken fever reducer. I think she just thought that was funny is all."

"What's funny? Me threatening you?"

Tracer pouted and crossed her arms

"Non, mon ami. I have not seen you so alive in ages. It's good to see you like this."

"Oh. You too, I guess. I mean I took care of you as much as I could but I guess we kinda just stagnated with each other, huh?"

She chuckled.

"I suppose we did."

"Well," Gabe took a few steps forward and faced Amelie. "I guess you should know, I'm turning myself in."

Wait no. They never decided on this. In fact, Jack was sure he'd steered him away from that idea completely.

"Ah, perhaps it's for the best. I will accompany you."

"Ha, no your sick ass won't. It'll be in fucking bed."

"I can sleep in prison."

"You're resting now, damn it." Gabe marched up the stairs; everyone else shrugged at each other. He returned with a blanket and threw it over Amelie. "Sleep."

She chuckled under the blanket and pulled it off of her head.

"Merci, Gabriel." She blew a kiss toward him and he scowled. Jack and Lena looked at the two, then at each other, sharing a look.

"You two are cute." Jack prodded Gabe’s side

"Adorable!" Tracer fixed Amelie’s hair which had gotten static-y under the blanket. They both received grumbles in response. Gabe inhaled loudly and pivoted on his heel.

"Well, Jack, it's been fun." He walked past and toward the door

"Oh no you don’t." He reached out to grab Gabe, who had turned to a cloud of smoke. "Dammit Gabe you can't just walk away from me, or float or whatever! Uhg!" He marched after Gabe until he reverted back into something solid.

"I told you I can’t just pretend nothing ever happened.'

"So...wringing you through the justice system will make it better?"

"It’ll seem that way to anyone I’ve wronged at least, and I suppose they deserve the peace of mind. Also, that means you and your goody two shoes friends will be famous in a good way. You want that, right?"

"God, this is going to sound so dumb Gabe, but I want you more."

"Jack you can't just make that decision for everyone"

"I might as well, I'm a bad guy remember? I do what I want."

"Stop being a little shit."

"Make me."

"Aww, you two are so cute and stubborn! You're not seriously breaking up _now,_ are ya?" Lena pouted dramatically, and tried out her puppy eyes on Gabe.

"We were never even together!"

"We _could_ be!"

Gabe wasn’t making any sense; he was just being stubborn. Jack was getting huffy and reached for Gabe’s shoulder. He shook Jack's hand off and marched out the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i'm sorry this is where u could really tell i'm not a writer. also sorry for the wait if you've been waiting! next one should be out sooner than this was :^))


	5. Chapter 5

Genji sat on the floor of Overwatch's temporary headquarters, exasperated. He desperately tried to relax but something was nagging at that back of his mind. He sighed and stood up again. Outside the building there was a small grassy knoll, dry from the sun. He walked a few steps onto it and sat again. He tried to control his breathing, keeping it slow and even, but it quickly turned back into a near-frantic huffing.

"BE CALM, GENJI. Has Zenyatta taught you nothing?"

He readjusted his posture and tried a third time to relax; as he cleared his mind, his master's words entered it.

_Deceptive statements reveal more of the deceiver than of the subject at hand._

He shivered and refocused himself on relaxation.

_Honesty may not always be soothing to others, but it can soothe oneself._

His breathing was still shaky and he began to fidget, as if he had a strong aversion to the insects buzzing past him.

_Telling half of a truth is the same as not telling the truth at all._

Genji groaned loudly as he stood.

"I cannot find balance like this! WINSTOOOON!"

Genji reentered the small building. There was something he needed to get off his chest.

Not a minute after Genji's crisis, Winston was speaking through Jack's earpiece.

"Morrison? You there? I, uh, have important news...relevant to the mission."

This was not a good time. Jack was currently trying to drag Gabe away from the police station. He bounded forward a few steps, hooked an arm around one of Gabe's, and reached for the mic on his glasses. He jabbed the side of his head before realizing he wasn't wearing the glasses; they too were abandoned on the hillside. He couldn’t say anything to Winston. Cool.

"I just received some rather...disturbing news from Genji." He heard Winston sigh; he imagined he was rubbing the bridge of his nose too. "It wasn't his tip. Jesse is the one who knew where to find Talon."

Jack yanked hard on Gabriel who had been struggling half-assedly this whole time.

"He's known for years, evidently."

"WHAT?!"

Gabe stopped moving and turned to squint at Jack who had yelled directly into his ear.

"I didn't say anything, Jack. God, you _are_ getting old."

"Shhhhhhhh." Jack slid a hand down Gabe's face while listening intently for more information.

"He's....been keeping tabs on Talon for years because well, Reaper seems to be none other than Gabriel Reyes."

"Oh." Jack turned his attention away from his earpiece. Way to be late to the party Winston.

"I'm sorry Gabe, you were saying?"

"What is going on with you?"

"Winston just told me Jesse knew you were alive this whole time and he's the one that tipped me off; he's a little--wait..."

"What?"

"Jesse..."

"Knew?" The men untangled from each other and shared a look of confusion.

"JESSE KNEW FOR YEARS, HE SAID!"

Gabe put a hand to his forehead. His lips were pursing and unpursing as he tried to figure out what to say. Jack started pacing quickly around Gabriel.

"He didn't tell me earlier because why? He didn't talk to you why?!"

"Ok, change of plans Jack."

"Yeah?"

"We're both going to jail for manslaughter." That was funny, really. Jack was too mad to laugh though. He just gave a curt nod of agreement and led to way to headquarters.

Jack stopped at the door.

"This is it."

"This is it?"

"Yeah, you stay here. I'm gonna go in casual-like and lure him out."

"Wait, Jack, they’re gonna ask why you're back and what happened to me."

"Oh yeah...you're...uh tied up with--Lena! Lena's with you at the building."

"Why would you leave me with her?"

"....they won’t ask."

"Listen, I agree that everyone can be kinda stupid, but they're not that bad. The only person that wouldn’t question that kind of thing is you."

Jack rolled his eyes and turned back toward the door.

"....I'll be back."

"I'll be here."

Jack ducked inside and closed the door behind him. Gabe decided to move away from the front door, in case anyone happened to pass by. Someone standing right in front of a door without moving, knocking, or going in was kind of suspicious-looking. He took a stroll around the building for lack of anything better to do. After his second leisurely mosey around, he decided it shouldn't take this long for Jack to either bring Jesse, or come back empty handed. He was going in.

The door handle looked unguarded and unlocked. There wasn't even a lock as far as Gabe could see. It should be safe to squeeze in and sneak around to find Jack, or Jesse, hopefully both, with minimal attention drawn to him. He turned the handle and peeked inside. It was lit, but he didn’t see anyone so he stepped inside.

"OOOOH!" Two voices rang through the building.

He froze.

"I thought I had you there, I really did! You looked like you were gonna lose it!"

"I was bluffing! I did that on purpose so you didn’t think you'd have to hold out much longer-- to try and throw you off!"

"Well, I guess it worked. You always have been sneaky."

Gabriel guessed they, whoever they were, hadn't seen him. If he wraithed through the more open part of the room until he got to what looked like a stairwell, he should be fine.

"Fareeha, don't think I didn't hear you come in. Don't just stand there."

Maybe they did know. Still, if he kept to the wall he would be fine. He heard footsteps approaching the doorway from the left, so he maneuvered to the right wall and drifted toward the stairs.

"What is that? That's not-"

"I GOT IT!"

Okay, it was a little more obvious of an entry than he'd wanted, but he could lose them easily. As he became whole again he saw the stairs and then everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know this is short, but the grand finale is huge so b prepared! (coming @ u sometime tomorrow; i have it all lined up and ready 2 go!!)


	6. Chapter 6

Gabe heard nothing; he saw nothing. His head hurt. Nausea was started creeping up from his gut as he realized he was being shaken violently.

"WAKE UP YOU...YOU...IDIOT!  I'M SORRY! GABRI--"

He had swatted at the source of the yelling; it wasn't helping his headache. He blinked rapidly until his eyes began to focus. He was on the floor, mostly. Someone was limply holding him upright.

"What the fuck just happened? Don’t touch me? The fuck..." He made an effort to stand, but his knees buckled and he landed back in the arms of whoever had been holding him.

"Shh, honey, I'm so sorry. I didn’t know. You're not going to be able to move well for a while...and you might get cold without a shirt...poor thing."

He was pulled back onto his caregiver's torso and they began to stroke his hair. This was weird. Gabe was starting to panic. He couldn’t move. Someone was talking to him. He still couldn't see straight. Where was Jack?

"Rein, could you get something for him to drink, and an old shirt of yours maybe?"

Rein? Rein..hardt? _REINHARDT?!_ Gabe began to wave his arms frantically as he made a second attempt to stand. He had to find Jack. There was no way he could explain himself in this state and he was still extremely upset that Jack has been gone for so long. Maybe they knocked out everyone who came through the door here and Jack was out too.

Gabe took two shaky steps before he processed whose voice it was he had been hearing for the past few minutes. He squinted and glanced around, still not able to see.

"Wh--wh...wha--how...wh--"

"Oh, I feel awful. This is why you can't pull that sneaky shit with me Gabe! Let me make you some food or something...what are you doing? Stop that! Come sit down. I don’t know what you’ve been up to but you should at least be wearing clothes!"

Ana was talking. He _knew_ it was Ana. Ana died? She was supposed to be dead. To be fair, so was he. Maybe she was the same way he was? All he could think about was the way Amelie sometimes over exaggerated her nasal laughter and said 'oh ho ho, how the turn tables' or something like that. He needed his eyes to focus but everything was still blurry and bright. He was led by the arm to a chair. He sat, knowing he really, truly couldn't do anything else.

"So...you are really you, right Gabi?"

He nodded.

"What happened?"

"You first."

"I was hit, but I escaped; I'm fine. That's not important right now. Can you see? You look...”

"Squinty? Yeah, I can't see for shit what did you do to me?"

"A little poison, a little tranquilizer...I thought you were an actual intruder."

"Well, you were half right."

"How s--"

"ANA CAN YOU MOVE PLEASE?" Reinhardt was yelling, but not angrily. It sounded more impatient than anything else.

Gabe heard shuffling and assumed Ana had moved. As soon as the shuffling stopped, Gabe found himself scooped into a suffocating hug.

"EVERYONE IS BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!!"

Although not entirely opportune, Gabe's vision was returning to normal. The first thing he could see was Reinhardt's cleavage. Wonderful.

"Everyone is here...everyone is alive..." Reinhardt let out a sniffle, long and loud.

"I mean, alive is subjective I guess..." Gabe looked up at him. He had aged a lot - not surprising- but he aged well. Even through snotty tears Gabe could see the grin of the man he knew. Gabe smiled weakly up at him and felt something hit his back. Twisting in Reinhardt’s arms and craning his neck he saw her. Ana had joined the hug. She was exactly how he remembered her, too. Her hair was braided and white and she wore an eyepatch now, but she was a comforting sight to see. He almost forgot anything was the matter at all. _Almost._

"We've missed you."

"So much."

If his arms weren't pinned at his sides and he had been wearing a shirt, he would have tugged at his collar uncomfortably. Here he was, sandwiched between two former friends who were crying over him even though he had had a plan to destroy them a few hours earlier. Awkward.

"Mother? There's been a lot of yelling I just wanted to make sure-"

"FAREEHA! I didn't hear you come home."

"I came home while you were still having a staring contest with Reinhardt, you were probably concentrat--"

"YOUR UNCLE GABE IS HOME!"

"Uncle....Gabe...?"

"Don't be like that. You remember your Uncle Gabi!"

Pharah' eyes narrowed at Gabe. He gave her a look that probably came off as more troubled than happy. Behind her, Genji had found a place to stand and look on as everyone cried. He put a hand to his chest as though it was very moving. The growing crowd made Gabe antsy. Today was just a fuckfest apparently. Nothing goes according to plan, everything that wasn't supposed to happen happens.

But finally, a beacon of hope! A noise toward the back of the room drew Gabe's gaze to Jack dragging Jesse down the stairs by his shirt sleeve. Jack was visibly quite confused at what he was seeing.

"What is going on down here?"

"Jack, LOOK--"

"JACK, GABRIEL'S--"

"Morrison, they're crying all over him..."

"GENJI you lil snitch! There you are!"

"Jesse, please!"

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Winston's voice echoed around the room. "Jack? Where's Lena? Where’s your shirt? Your glasses? And Jesse, put Genji down. Reinhardt who are you holding? What is--"

Gabe let out a raspy hello.

Winston put a hand over his face. He seemed to be the only person other than Gabe upset with how things were playing out.

The conversation quickly picked up again after Winston stopped talking. Reinhardt and Ana were back to blubbering, Pharah was quietly expressing her disapproval with the sudden outbursts of emotion, Jesse was threatening Genji, and Jack was questioning Gabriel.

"I thought I told you to stay outside?"

"You were taking too long! How did I know something didn't happen to you?"

"What do you mean? Like I was attacked in my own home?"

"It wouldn't be the first time something's gone to shit unexpectedly!" Gabe did have a point. He was released from the group hug. "God, I was worried, okay? Damn..."

"I'm sorry. I just thought you wanted to avoid, well, this." Jack gestured widely to the room.

"I did, but I was also concerned that it took you over twenty minutes to get back to me. That's not wholly unreasonable, I'd think."

"No, you're right." Jack lazily pointed to Jesse with his thumb. " _He_ wasn't making it easy."

"Listen," Jesse whispered, "I just thought I was doin’ what was best for y'all and based on what you both look like right now I did the right thing..."

They both did look quite disheveled. Jack still had no shirt and his belt was questionably buckled, Gabe had been given one of Reinhardt’s old shirts and his hair was frizzy, though he attributed most of that to Ana’s recent doting.

"Um, EXCUSE ME, but we are out of the loop." Ana crossed her arms and huffed.

Jesse understood this as 'you had better explain,' but he wasn't too nervous because Gabriel and Jack were probably in the doghouse too. He sighed deeply before beginning,

"This goes back a while. Since I had split pretty early on, y’know when shit had first started to go south. I didn't easily get news about what had happened to you two, or anybody else for that matter. I eventually had heard you both died. I bought it for a while, until I found out you were alive, Jack. When I heard about that I was one hundred percent sure Gabe was alive too." Jesse rubbed his neck. "Actually, I was pretty sure you were hiding out together and just kept him secret on account’a all the shit he was accused of."

"Why would you think that?" As Jack asked, Gabe hit his forehead with the heel of his palm.

"At the time I thought you two were together. ’Course I found out I was wrong."

"I'm still lost, here. Why did you think we were together?"

Gabe winced and dragged his hand down his face slowly.

"Gabe?"

"Actually this is a funny story--"

"No it's not."

"Oh, hush. When I was a new recruit I used to--wait, actually this is more embarrassing for me."

"Jesse would make lewd comments about you behind your back, usually to me."

"It made him mighty uncomfortable so I joked that it was because he liked you and well, his reaction gave him away."

"The little snot never let me hear the end of it. Luckily for me, you're totally oblivious to everything."

"Also unluckily for you, he was totally oblivious to everything. I tried dropping hints that you were available but he didn't pick it up AT ALL."

"You what?!"

"Aaanyway, so when I looked into it and found out that you two weren't hiding out together I started my search for you Gabe." McCree pulled a chair close and sat. "I really had no idea where to start, and I didn't do much for a while. Buuut eventually, my own work got tangled in some’a Talons bullpucky so I _had_ to look into it and a'course I knew it was you after I got a few descriptions. Basically, I hit the road and tried to figure out where your aim was at. I followed you an--"

"Are _you_ the guy who dressed as a tumbleweed and tried to take pictures of me?"

"Bingo."

"...that's not even your personal low is it?"

"Hey! You didn't recognize me so who's the loser now?" He flicked the brim of his hat and flared his nostrils. "So I knew where you were and I had a vague idea of what you were doing. You were hunting us while we were hunting you, it seemed. I figured someone had the wrong idea; maybe we both did. My main train of thought was," Jesse pointed both Gabe and Jack with his index and middle fingers, “Y'all were both alive, but neither y'all knew the other one was and based on my observations y'all were still sick over each other too."

Both Gabriel and Jack sputtered a bit of an objection.

"Hey now, you were hunting Talon to avenge his death because you couldn't die peacefully without exacting justice for him and _you_ were the sorriest, mopiest ass I ever--if I had to hear one more shitty country song I was gon' blow my own damn cover.”

"Aw, Gabe."

"Don't even talk to me!" Gabe turned his back to everyone, humiliated.

Ana was snickering.

"Awwww, this is sweet,” Reinhardt said, through choked back tears. “And now you can finally be together." He had started to cry again, loudly this time.

"Since there had been a lull in regular crime reports and everyone was pretty calm this week, I decided to tell everyone where Talon was at. Of course since I hadn't been told to be doin’ recon, I didn't want to arouse any suspicions, so I had Genji say it was his finding...which he apparently failed to do."

Genji sat up stock straight and pouted.

"You cannot force me to lie on your behalf! All lies are laced with bad intentions!"

"Oh shush, you snitchin’ little tattletale! Anyhow, I followed y'all to make sure you didn’t kill each other but neither of y'all got it I swear to god."

"Actually, I knew who he was. I threw him out because this is an awkward situation and I wanted to keep him from knowing."

"Wait, why didn't you want me to recognize you Gabe??"

"Well this was before the...the feelings, so I just thought it would less painful in the long run to not see you again. Also we were enemies at that point--er, are?"

"Uh, no. We've been over this."

"WAIT!" Ana marched forward and pushed Jesse out of the way, standing and staring at Jack and Gabe. "Thing one, you owe me twenty bucks Rein."

Reinhardt looked upward in thought, then winced and nodded. He did bet her a number of years ago that they didn't like each other romantically. Dang.

"Thing two, you're dating now. You clearly needed someone else to decide it for you so there you go." Jack began to gesticulate strongly as Gabe opened his mouth, presumably they were both going to fight her.

"Don't even try; there's no point! You both like each other so what's the issue? You've been wanting this for how long in the back of your minds? Yeah, I thought so. THING THREE-"

"Ana," Winston started.

"Bapbapbapbapbapbap." Ana brought her thumb and index finger together in front of her mouth. "I'm not done."

Winston inhaled, then closed his mouth. He'd let her finish at least.

"Thing three, this means that you two were opposing forces for years. Why? I mean, I know why we were looking for you, but why were you looking for us, Gabe? Something about this is wrong and we need to know what."

Winston had started to nod with his fist to his chin. Maybe that's what he was going to ask about.

"Well, uh, I guess I thought Overwatch itself was behind staging my betrayal and Blackwatch's corruption? I mean, if you didn't know about it, who did? I was really hard on Jack at first because I thought he....." Gabe trailed off and squinted and nothing in particular. "You know, I totally dropped that. I never even bothered asking again after you got all gushy on me Jack. What the hell _is_ going on?"

"May I," Pharah interrupted. She stepped into the circle of storytellers, next to her mother. "I don't think it's too hard to assume from here that both organizations were set ups, likely made by and for the same group of people."

Everyone had quieted and watched Pharah closely. She began to pace around them.

"Jesse, who founded Overwatch?"

"Hoo boy, uh, hm, that's some history right there, " His face scrunched up as he prepared to be reprimanded for his incorrect response. "Rey...es?"

She lifted her chin, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply.

"No," She let out a huff. "I _suppose_ you might not know, joining so young…though you should know if I know......Morrison? The answer please."

"...the United Nations?"

"Yes." Pharah began to pace again. "Reyes, who investigated the corruption of Blackwatch?"

"....the United Nations."

"Correct." She stopped again to face him. "Why did you attack us during this time?"

"I had also assumed that some higher-ups had to do with it, but I thought Jack knew about it too."

"Half right, not bad."

Gabe flinched backward, incredulous. She took after her mother, that's for sure.

"I have worked for the government, hoping to earn a spot in Overwatch. Of course, I never got the official opportunity. My time in the Egyptian army taught me more than basic teamwork and combat skills. I learned how powerful systems work. I had an exemplary record, spotless. How do you think that is? Yes, I played by the rules, of course, but that's not all. Everything is a little corrupted if you look hard enough."

Gabe bounced up and down excitedly while giving Jack a look. Didn't he say that earlier? He totally said that earlier.

"I didn't look too closely into things, for fear of being discovered. It was more observation from afar than anything else, a bird's eye view, if you will." She smirked; Jack snorted. No one else found it funny. Ana smiled in a very pained sort of way. She didn't teach her daughter to be like this. Curse Jack.

"More or less I influenced others to make certain decisions to see how the system would react. I found it quite unfair in certain aspects, but as long as you fit their mold, you were well liked. This is probably why, Jack, they put you in charge instead of Gabriel."

"What?"

Fareeha tapped her bottom lip in thought.

"Gabriel is a very free thinker. He questions things, audibly too. You follow orders more readily than he does. Don't get me wrong, you do _have_ a moral compass but you're very weak-willed in the face of authority."

Gabe was covering a smile with his hand and willing his lips to relax. This was not the time for laughing, but he had always wanted confirmation, however roundabout, that he should have been promoted. It was petty, yes, but he didn't often get validation or recognition for his work. It was a nice change of pace. He cleared his throat and wiped the grin from his face.

"You're telling me I was their doormat?"

"If that's how you'd like to put it, yes. Reyes would have meddled with things, gotten in too deep. You just did your job. That's what they wanted."

Pharah was only aware of how crushing this must be to a man whose ego has been inflated his entire life after she said it.

"Y-you did a good job! You made it look--uh, Overwatch was _incredibly_ successful until it was taken down from the inside!"

She was sweating; she was trying so hard to save it, but there really was no way to. The fact of the matter was that Jack was the poster boy and not much else. She wiped the sweat from her brow and decided to keep going, best not to dwell anyhow.

"Ahem, anyway, so in _my_ experience--"

"You're fucking with me."

Pharah's sweating began anew. Jack wasn't gonna let this go.

"Yo, Attention McEgo, let it go. Let her finish."

"Easy for you to say, Gabe," Jack muttered. He crossed his arms and stopped talking.

"As I was saying, I knew about this going in to Overwatch, or when I thought I was going in. Keep in mind this is right before it was disbanded. I had been thinking about this while I watched both organization fall apart, while I watched Talon rise. In my opinion, it was kind of useful to be an outsider, so as not to have my feelings mixed up in my thoughts, as both of you did."

Gabe cocked his head to one side and turned it into a nod. If he hadn't been so focused on Jack's betrayal he might have seen the larger picture. Jack was unmoving, still silent.

"There was something extremely disconcerting about an organization analyzing its own corruption without a second opinion. No one questioned their investigation either. I suppose the public liked to think the UN could handle its own problems, but they should have seen something worrisome about it."

Fareeha took a minute to breathe. Everyone was still watching her. Jack hadn't moved since Gabe told him to stop talking. It was probably worthwhile for her to backtrack a bit.

"So, I suppose you're wondering when it started, their plan? To be truthful, I'm not sure. My guess is from the beginning. They just needed a distraction while--"

She stopped mid-thought. Something didn't line up.

"Gabriel...you're the leader of Talon, yes?"

"I am now, yeah. Took out the assholes who weren't doin’ the right thing."

Phara's eyes were wide; she looked rather horrified.

"They're...dead?"

"Dead or discharged, yeah."

At 'discharged' Pharah gave a small sharp inhale.

"Do you remember them all? Those that still live? You have their identities, yes?"

"Ah, shoot, somewhere probably, yeah."

"Well, alright. I might be correct still." She shook off her doubts and continued. "I believe Talon was a small operative led by certain interest parties within the UN. It’s important to know the entirety of the UN may not have been in on this. After all, they kept it from Jack and it was right under his nose. If they kept it as quiet as they did from him, they likely didn't alert nonconforming members of the UN to their presence.  The only problem is I don't have an idea as to what their motive really was; clearly they had some sort of problem with omnics but I don't know why they would want to conflagrate the issue..."

"Hmph. Sadly, I can't help you. They didn't tell me much 'cept that they didn’t give a shit about Overwatch which is why I got rid of them all. They didn't have any other suggestion when it came to things that needed doing. Guess they were being careful, in case they thought I wasn't with them."

"Well, we can find out when we find those you let go, then."

Gabriel smiled a genuine smile.

"You got it, munchkin."

Fareeha let out a chuckle

"Good, well, I suppose I should thank you."

Gabe looked briefly around him.

"Me?"

"Yes. This had all been speculation until you stepped forward. I mean, it still is, but we have a pretty clear idea of where to go from here and who the real enemy is now."

"Hm, guess so."

"Well, lookie here!"

Jesse put one arm around Gabriel and the other around Jack.

"This turned out tons better than I could’a hoped! Y'all are in love and together and we're all back together with renewed purpose!"

He raised his arm and gestured widely around the room. Reinhardt started to sniffle again. Ana also inhaled shakily.

"My daughter, look at you! So smart and resourceful. I'm so proud!"

She choked a little on her words and pulled Pharah into a hug. Reinhardt hugged them both.

"Ah, fuck it."

Gabe held his arms out toward Reinhardt, ready to be scooped up. Jack bounded forward too, arms wide. Reinhardt let out a deep laugh and pulled them in. Jesse and Genji shrugged, and joined the hug from the edges. Pharah had started to giggle; it rippled outwards until the whole group was a teary-eyed laughing mess. Winston stood back a little, but smiled at what he saw. He didn’t really expect anything even close to this to happen, but he was glad to see it.

"This is nice and all, everyone being back together and happy but," Winston paused and readjusted his glasses before continuing, "You never answered my question, Jack. Where is Tracer?"

_F U C K_

Gabe started laughing harder than he had been. It was ungodly choking and wheezing. Smoke was billowing from both his mouth and his nose. Everyone else, suddenly aware of the fact that something was clearly still wrong with Gabriel, parted the hug. Jack stood, rolling his eyes. This was _not_ funny.

"Gabi, are you ok?"

"Woah there, Reyes, lil smoky are we?"

Gabe made an effort to calm his laughter but was clearly not done laughing at Jack, who was _still_ rolling his eyes.

"She's fine, Winston. Call her in. She's still at Talon's building; I think she thought I'd be coming back."

"JACKIE! How many times is that today?! Hee hee heeee--"

"OH MY GOD. Stuff it, Gabe."

"You know, if she were here she'd laugh and say 'get stuffed' but she's not! BAH HAAAA HAA HA HA HA!"

Winston was lost, as was everyone else. They failed to see why this was so funny. Deciding against an inquiry, Winston hit his mic.

"Lena?"

"Winston? What can I do for ya’, love?"

"Just...come back to headquarters, please. We have some important news for you, I think."

He heard static feedback for a second.

"Ew, gross. Don't blow your nose when I'm on the phone! Oi, don't get sassy with me--I'm sorry Winston I'll be home in a tic!"

Winston tried to remain calm while asking his next question but he was a little annoyed.

"Jack, you didn’t happen to leave Lena with anyone, did you?"

Jack made a humming noise, pretending to think about it. Gabe put a hand on his shoulder; he would handle it.

"So I'm alive, right? You all remember Amelie, yeah?"

Winston exhaled loudly through rounded lips. Was it so hard to communicate with each other instead of dealing with all this mystery surprise business? Apparently it was.

Ana started quickly walking circles around Gabe and chuckled weakly.

"So...I kind of also knew....she was alive...because I didn't kill her when I was supposed to. She thought she killed me, I think."

"Yeah, that's why I was sure you were dead, actually."

"Oh, what a mess! She was working for you, then? When you thought we were the bad guys?"

"Yeah. She won't come at you again, don't worry about it, haha! She's sick, actually, she won't be doing much at all."

"Aw. I'll make some tea."

Gabe smiled. This was nice. Somehow everyone was back together again, no grudges held.

Winston blinked and let out an affirmation under his breath as he turned away. He needed a break.

"OOOOI! GUESS WHO'S BACK!" Tracer had kicked the door open and stood in the doorway, yelling.

Amelie stood next to her, slouching and sniffling. She gave one weak wave of her arm as a hello.

"We don't need to guess, Lena. Everyone knows."

"AW, JACK! You blew the surprise!!"

"Well, to be fair, Gabe blew the Amelie surprise but I think everyone's had enough surprise for one day anyway."

"Ah, you're prob’ly right." Tracer kicked at the floor but quickly quit her pouting in favor of grinning. "Sooooo how's everything with _you know...._?"

"I'm literally standing right next to the both of you."

"Psh, I know that Reyes but I wasn't asking _you._ SO, _Jack_ , how is everything going with your new _boyfriend?_ "

Jack was embarrassed. He wasn't sure why but the more Tracer pushed the issue the more awkward he felt about it.

Gabe was rolling his eyes. Damn, she could be annoying. Over his shoulder he saw Ana pass Amelie a cup of peppermint tea.

"LENA," Gabe boomed, "How's your new girlfriend?"

"Hhhaa-bop-b-uhh w-w-weuh buh-b-bu--"

"Oh la vache, Gabriel! Merde alors…" Amelie coughed through her words. Gabe was also pretty sure she choked on her tea. Oops.

"Gabe, I was gonna say great. I was just gonna say everything was great and let it drop."

Tracer stepped forward.

"Uh, not to be a total negative Nellie, but _is_ it great?" She grabbed one of Gabe's hands and rubbed on a particularly dark spot until her thumb started the push through.

"You're kinda like a ghost, yeah?"

"Girl, get your fingers out of my hand! That's just weird!" Gabe pulled his hand away disgusted.

"I'm just concerned is all. You know, I was like a ghost too, for a while. Does it hurt? Are you tired all the time? Does that smoke hurt you too?"

Gabe's face softened. He glanced toward Jack, noticed he had the attention of near everyone in the room, and sighed.

"Does it hurt? Yeah, kinda. I'd liken it to sore muscles after an intense workout, but all the time, every day. I can function. I think I’m used to the pain now anyway, it's not a big deal."

"Isn't there something we can do? Winston made something to help me, what if--"

"You know, science is what did this to me, I'd like to just let it happen as it does. No more intervention. I know it doesn’t look or feel normal, because it’s not, and it might affect me more as time goes on but I don’t wanna take any crazy risks here. I'm fine with how my body is now."

 "Are ya sure? We just got you back and I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn’t want you lost again."

It was quiet. Winston had reentered at some point and looked as solemn as everyone else. Reinhardt wiped his nose; he was gonna cry again, the poor guy.

"Guys, it's ok! I'm here now; it's all good! Guys?"

Reinhardt’s sniffling got louder. Ana turned away and wiped at her face. Jack was smiling, but Gabe could see his nose running. Tracer and Amelie were staring at him.

"Guys??"

A loud sob broke out.

"Oh, Rein, buddy I'm...Jes--se?"

McCree was sobbing, not Reinhardt, though tears had started to drip down his face too.

"'M sorry 's just" he loudly snorfled and ran his arm across his face "You're here now. You're with us. You're with Jack and--" He let out another sob, "'s all jus’...so good."

Jesse continued to cry, Reinhardt put an arm around him and let the tears fall. Ana patted Jesse's shoulder; her own lips were quivering.

"Guys, guys! You don't gotta cry! It's ok! The bad stuff is over; it’s in the past now! GUYS!"

No matter how much he yelled, the crying seemed to radiate outwards from Jesse until everyone had to blow their nose-- even Genji.

Pharah, who had sniffled only once, took a few large steps toward Gabriel and hugged him, more for everyone else than herself.

"Welcome home....Uncle Gabe."

"Thanks, kiddo."

Gabe squeezed her as hard as he could, grabbed her by the waist and lifted her over his head so she sat on his shoulders.

"Thiiiiis is not safe!!"

"Like old times! Where to, ReeRee?"

"Oh no...."

"You bet your ass I'm bringing that one back. Get ready to duck!"

Gabe, holding Fareeha in place, walked into the kitchen, grabbed a few cookies and handed them up to her. Everyone watched with amusement, and chattered back and forth about what a wonderful day it was. After a few minutes, Winston shuffled closer to the group and cleared his throat.

"Not to interrupt the festivities for the third time today, but what is the plan? Are we still working? Who's our target?"

Ana curbed her laughter and turned toward him.

"Gabriel mentioned there were a few members of Talon he let go; we question them first."

"Ah, right."

Gabe put Pharah down and approached Ana who held his hand and squeezed it hard. He smiled and squeezed back until he heard a small yelp.

"Winston, you don't have to work so hard, you know? I can get you their profiles tomorrow. It's been one hell of a day; take some time to relax. Hell, as far as I’m concerned you've been the only one who has been doing what you were supposed to have been doing. You deserve it."

Winston gave a curt nod and thanked Gabe. Knowing Winston, he wasn't really going to relax, probably tinker with some experiment of his and maybe crack open an extra container of peanut butter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :^)))


	7. Epilogue

Everyone else’s celebratory festivities continued into the early morning. Pharah had worked with Gabe to make a huge meal for everyone; he was proud of how much her tastes resembled his own. Jesse put up decorations and brought out every board game he could find. Genji made sure everyone had a blanket and a pillow with them, lest they nod off during Monopoly. Ana and Reinhardt did their part to make sure everyone had gotten a sufficient amount of hugs. Amelie and Tracer had provided wit and humor that kept everyone awake. Jack did too, but his jokes put everyone back to sleep.  Every so often Winston would join in but called it quits after a particularly violent game of Sorry.

When the sun had come back up, everyone had fallen asleep, many of them on the table. Upon waking, Jesse found a candlestick from Clue stuck in his beard and an imprint on his cheek from a small Scottie dog; he hazily recalled that was Reinhardt's Monopoly piece, but saw that Scrabble was the game out on the table. The sun was bright and shone through the windows where he had fallen asleep; that's probably why he woke after only two hours of sleep. As unfortunate as it was going to be, he decided it was best to wake everyone else and get them to actual beds. He already felt a soreness in his neck that would probably feel about seven times worse to Reinhardt whose head looked as though it might detach and fall from his neck, craned like a plastic swan.

He moved clockwise around the room, shaking everyone lightly and helping them to the stairs. Everyone else seemed quite docile. Even Amelie was glad to be roused. He was surprised to have only been hit three times; by Pharah, Ana, and Gabriel.

"Go 'way."

"Gabe, bud, you gotta get up. You fell outta your chair onto the floor you cannot possibly be comfortable."

Jack, who was first to get woken up, graciously put away the Scrabble tiles and told Jesse he'd get Gabe off the floor. Tracer snorted and made finger guns with limp arms as she made her way up the stairs backwards. She tripped, but continued upwards facing Jack with the finger guns.

"Gabe. Gaaabe. Gabi."

"Go 'WAY."

Jack rolled his eyes and lifted Gabe onto his feet.

"Come on. You can sleep in my bed. It's not very big, so sorry if I kick you."

"Ha, 's fine. Bet I'll fall out before you do cause I fell out of my chair already."

"You get the side against the wall then."

Gabe chuckled and put an arm around Jack’s shoulders for support.

"It's been such a long day....can you believe all this happened within 24 hours? Wild..."

"Yeah. Who would have thought, huh? I sure didn't think I'd be leading my crush from 10 years ago to my bed by the end of the day."

"Every day."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I mean, unless you wanna sleep in my bed but that's a lot of walking--"

"Gabe?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, you told me."

Jack stopped walking.

"Ok, ok. I love you too, you dork."

Jack led Gabe to his room and crawled into bed with him. The laid together silently for a few minutes.

"Jackie?"

"Hm?"

"I don't wanna work anymore. I'm just...so content right here, right now. I mean, maybe for a little while longer...but I just wanna live, you know? We've spent so much time apart already... do we have to spend our time together risking our asses again?"

Jack laughed quietly and pulled Gabe close.

"We're gonna look like losers if Rein and Ana are working and we aren't."

"I guess so. Maybe we could convince them to retire too. Honestly, we've done enough. The children aren't children anymore. We can hang around here and help relay info and _occasionally_ do field work with them but..."

"That sounds nice, Gabe. That's not a bad idea."

"Really? I was expecting more of a fight"

"No, I'm done too. The only reason I kept going this long was for you, remember?"

"Oh yeah..."

"What will we do with all the time, though? We're not used to it."

"We can sleep late. You can start a garden. I can pick guitar up again. We can read together, cook together, travel together..."

"I _have_ wanted a garden..."

"It's a plan then."

"What is? Retirement?"

"Wasting my time with you. Spending our lives together. You know, that sappy shit you like so much."

"Ha, sounds good to me. You know...maybe we should go out for breakfast tomorrow, er, today? I don't know what time it is, but we could go out for coffee at least, to that horrible coffee shop. It'll be like a date. We can bring Amelie and Tracer too, if they want to come. That would be fun, don't you think?"

Gabe was asleep. Jack smiled and kissed Gabe's forehead before pulling up the covers.

"Goodnight, Gabi. See you tomorrow."

Jack knew that he would be spending every day with his love for literally the rest of his life and that thought was enough to lull him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the grand finale!! let them rest 2k16

**Author's Note:**

> find me at: sketchy-skyes on tumblr!!


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